Milton wins district, Pace is runner-up

Wednesday

Last Friday week 10 of the high school football season kicked off with a lot of "what ifs."

By the time the dust had settled four of the five high school football programs in Santa Rosa County knew their fate.

While Gulf Breeze and Navarre knew their fates, but Milton and Pace were not so sure.

After an exiting night of football ended it was Milton winning their first district title since 2006 and preparing to make their first playoff appearance since 2007.

"I thought we might be able to slide in at the start of the season, but I wasn't thinking about a district title," said Milton head coach Chafan Marsh. "To get where we are we had to upset two pretty good teams.

"We seemed to gel at the right time."

In the past two weeks the Panthers (7-3; 5-1 in District 1-6A) beat Pace a team they had not beat the past eight seasons and on Friday beat Pine Forest 35-21, a team they had not defeated for the past seven years until Friday.

Milton, who has played a strong last six quarters, jumped out to an early 14-0 lead over Pine Forest behind two Andre Flakes touchdowns.

After Pine Forest pulled within 14-7, Flakes scored his third touchdown of the first half to go up 21-7

The Eagles cut the lead to seven before halftime when Reed Gilliland scored a late first half score.

Milton would add two more scores in the second half to seal the win.

"We have played a lot better the last six quarters and I hope we can keep the recipe going in the playoffs," Marsh said.

With the win, Milton helped Pace earn the runner-up spot in the District 1-6A standings.

The Patriots (7-3; 4-2 in District 1-6A) finished in a three-way tie with Pine Forest and Pensacola in district records, but earned the second playoff berth by defeating Pine Forest and Pensacola during the regular season.

As Milton ground the Eagles it was Pace who defended their homecoming festivities with a 16-15 win over Pensacola Catholic.

Pace led at one point 9-0 thanks to a Brice Moore touchdown to Shayne Crawford and a safety in the second quarter when Catholic was flagged for a holding penalty in the endzone.

The Crusaders made it 9-7 until J.C. Curry scored early in the fourth quarter to make it 16-7.

Catholic got a late touchdown and a two-point conversion, but could not get any closer for the upset.

While upsets seemed to be a theme, Jay could not make their own magic Friday when they traveled to Freeport.

The Bulldogs managed to stop the Royals 46-7.

Jay's only score came when Tate Upton hit Colton Williams for a nine-yard touchdown pass as the Royals finished District play 0-3 as they fell to 3-6 on the season.

The Royals will look to close out the season with a win as they host Monroe Co. at 7 p.m.

This will mark the only game in the northern part of Santa Rosa County, while the south end will see Navarre host Gulf Breeze in their annual rivalry for the Fishing Lure.

Kickoff in Navarre is set for 7:30 p.m.

District 1 6-A

Team District Overall

Milton 5-1 7-3

Pace 4-2 7-3

Pine Forest 4-2 5-3

Pensacola 4-2 5-3

Escambia 3-3 4-5

Tate 1-5 1-8

Washington 0-6 1-8

District 2 6-A

Navarre 5-0 8-1

Niceville 3-2 5-3

Fort Walton 3-2 6-3

Choctaw 2-3 3-5

Crestview 2-3 4-6

Mosley 0-5 3-6

District 1 5-A

West Florida 4-0 9-0

Gulf Breeze 3-1 7-2

Arnold 1-3 2-6

Rutherford 1-3 2-7

Bay 1-3 3-5

District 1 1-A

Northview 3-0 7-2

Freeport 2-1 4-5

Baker 1-2 5-4

Jay 0-3 3-6

Week 10 Scores

Milton 35, Pine Forest 21

Pace 16, Catholic 15

Freeport 46, Jay 7

Gulf Breeze 45, Rutherford 15

Navarre 28, Mosley 13

Pensacola 24, Escambia 3

West Florida 28, Tallahassee Chiles 21

Tate 35, Washington 27

Northview 40, Baker 6

Local games of interest – Week 11

Munroe at Jay - 7 p.m.

Gulf Breeze at Navarre - 7:30 p.m.

Catholic at Washington - 7 p.m.

Escambia at Wakulla - 7 p.m.

West Florida at Northview - 7 p.m.

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